Chandigarh, April 5: The Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit has publicly condemned Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha for his alleged failure to advocate for the state’s rights in the Upper House. Following a meeting on April 4, cabinet ministers and party officials affirmed that the MP’s performance in Parliament has completely sidelined the state’s most sensitive financial concerns.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema declared that the MP failed to speak before the Prime Minister regarding the ₹1,600 crore relief package announced after devastating floods. Cheema maintained that the state has also faced a shortfall of ₹5,000 to ₹6,000 crore due to changes in GST compensation, yet these issues remained unaddressed in the MP’s parliamentary contributions.
“All these issues were repeatedly conveyed to Raghav Chadha, yet he did not raise even one of them in Parliament,” Cheema affirmed. He stated that the lack of representation regarding the ₹8,500 crore RDF arrears is particularly damaging to the state’s rural development goals.
The party’s state president, Aman Arora, asserted that the leadership noticed the MP focusing on “unrelated matters” while the state’s primary financial grievances were ignored. Arora stated that the political elevation provided by the party and Arvind Kejriwal carried a responsibility to champion Punjab’s cause, which he affirmed has not been met.
From a flood-affected village, MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal maintained that the residents feel neglected by their representative. He stated that the party had specifically urged the MP to seek the release of the central relief funds.
“The people of Punjab will not forget this neglect,” Dhaliwal asserted, declaring that the MP’s silence on the plight of those who lost homes and livelihoods is a betrayal of trust.
